Called By The Powers
by xfirefly9x
Summary: Piper/Leo, Prue, Phoebe. A new evil has arisen. Will the Charmed Ones be able to defeat it?
1. Searching For Clues

**Called By The Powers**

Rays of warm, dazzling sunlight poured through the stained glass windows of the attic in the Halliwell manor, giving off a magical glow of colour that danced across the walls inside. The Charmed Ones were gathered there beneath the sparkling light, too busy with their latest case of demons to notice the beauty of the new day.

Prue poured over the Book of Shadows, an expression of deep concentration on her face and her brow furrowed. She wore a forest-green shirt over a pair of old jeans that had seen one to many demon fights. Yellowish blood stained the upper-left part of her trousers and there was a tear in the fabric, thanks to one of their latest adversaries.

"You should really think about getting a new pair of jeans, Prue." Phoebe called from her current position – she was sitting in a stuffed armchair nearby. A heavy-looking book with yellowed pages lay open in her lap and next to her on the floor, a huge pile of journals and other books were piled up, almost level with her head.

Unlike Prue, Phoebe's choice of clothing did not include anything that had been in contact with a demon. She tended to throw garments under that category out as soon as possible.

"Phoebes, there's more important things to think about now than getting new jeans. Like this new evil, for instance!" Prue glanced over at her sister, feeling slightly impatient at her seemingly lack of interest.

Phoebe twirled a strand of light-brown hair around one finger and sighed restlessly. She turned to Piper, who was currently pacing the room.

"Piper! Stop pacing for a minute, please! You're giving me a headache!"

Piper paused, then walked over to stand by Phoebe's side.

"Found anything yet?" She asked, hopefully.

"Nope, sorry."

So far, despite the immensely large number of books that they had viewed, nothing had come up that was even remotely connected to the new evil that the Elders had warned them about.

"What about you, Prue?"

"Nothing here, either." Prue answered, tiredly. She turned away from the Book of Shadows and joined her sisters.

"So, what now?

For a few minutes, the Charmed Ones pondered on their next move. Prue leant back on the armrest of Phoebe's chair, Piper returned to pacing the room between where the Book of Shadows lay on its stand and the door of the attic, and Phoebe remained where she was, scratching her head thoughtfully.

"Leo!" Piper finally called, breaking the silence that had taken the room and startling both Prue and Phoebe out of their thoughts. Leo had gone to the Elders several hours ago for more information on whatever it was they were looking for and as of yet had not returned.

It was possible that Leo had found out something that would be useful or at least give them a clue as to what was going on. Any information would be helpful to them, considering how little they already knew – especially since what they knew just about added up to nothing.

"Huh! Why didn't I think of that?" Phoebe smiled as an eerie blue glow formed in front of her and Leo's form appeared.

"Hey, Leo."


	2. Do The Elders Know?

_A/N: It's been a long while since I've watched Charmed __and even longer since I've written anything for this story. Hopefully with my recent (ongoing) rewatch of the series I'll be able to continue this and maybe even finish it. _

"Got anything?" Leo asked, getting straight to the point. He brushed some dirt off his shirt with one hand as he moved over to join the sisters by the armchair.

"So, no 'hello', then?" Piper teased, coming up from behind Phoebe and taking him into her arms. She gave him a quick kiss, and then let her attention return to the matter at hand. "Sadly, no. We haven't got anything new, here. A big fat zero is all. What about the Elders?"

"Sorry." Leo smiled sympathetically. "The Elders don't know anything more than they've already told you."

"Right…" Piper sighed wearily and moved in to lean against Leo's chest. He pulled her close, dragging her fingers through her dark hair absentmindedly.

"Get a room!" Phoebe called a little irritated. She shifted position on the armchair, pulling her feet up under her and crossing her legs. Slamming the book shut that she'd been reading earlier.

"Phoebes? " Prue interjected. "Have you even thought any of this out?"

"Yeah, I have. And I think we're wasting a lot of time sitting around here and doing this. We've been here for hours and we're more confused and in the dark about this new evil than when we started! It's pointless!"

"So what do you suggest then, oh wise one?" Prue asked sarcastically. She picked up another book and opened it to the index, searching it for anything that could help them with their research.

"We could – you know – go out and look around for this thing. Ask Morris if the police have any information on anything abnormal. There's got to be something else we can do!" Phoebe reasoned.

She glanced out the window, relishing the warm glow of the sun on her skin and sighed. They were getting nowhere just sitting around.

"Huh," Prue said thoughtfully after a moment. "That may actually work! I mean, we're not doing much good sitting around here."

Leo nodded slowly behind them, his forehead creased in worry and concentration. He wiped away the beads of sweat that were beginning to form with the back of his hand.

"Leo?" Piper prompted him, picking up on his silent message. "What's on your mind?" They all quietened and turned to face the Whitelighter.

"I know you said they don't know anything more than they've told us through you," Prue said, "but are you absolutely sure there's nothing we're missing out on here?" They all clustered around Phoebe, at the armchair.

"I'm sure. The Elders don't know what this thing is yet, but it's bad. End of the world bad."

"Ooh, another end of the world evil thingy!" Phoebe mocked enthusiasm.

"Yup. More evil." Piper sighed.

"So what now? Do we have a plan?" Prue pursed her lip up and chewed on it thoughtfully. The Elders had no idea what this evil thing was; there was nothing in the Book Of Shadows; they had no idea what they were up against. The unknown scared Prue more than the known. At least when they knew what they were up against, they had more of a chance. Not knowing could put them in an even more dangerous situation than normal.

"We've got to find out more about this evil thing. After that we can vanquish whatever it is." Piper's determination shone in her eyes fiercely.

"Okay," Prue agreed. "Let's get back to work."

A series of groans filled the room before they returned to the books.

_tbc..._


End file.
